Introverted Extroversion...

I’ve taken multiple personality tests over the last few years, in an attempt to understand myself and possibly what I need.

I’ve gotten a variety of results that basically say that I’m different variations of an extrovert (and obviously a little schizo).

According to Myers-Briggs, I’m an ENFP, which I’ve previously mentioned, which basically says that I’m an extrovert that relies mostly on intuition, feelings and perception.

 

I think that’s, mostly, an accurate assessment.  However, I don’t think that I’m always an extrovert.

Maybe it’s because I’m an only child and I learned to live with my own company, enjoy solitude, entertain myself, etc…

 

Sometimes I like being out with a crowd, I have a pretty large circle of friends and acquaintances, however, I am not a go-out-every-night kind of girl.  But, when I’m out, I’m OUT and I have a good time.

 

Sometimes I enjoy the peacefulness of being alone, it can be recharging.  This weekend, other than a wedding I attended, I barely spoke to another soul, aside from the cats (please don’t draw any conclusions from that).

 

Okay, now to what I wanted to discuss…

 

I am dating an introvert.  And I like dating him.  Sometimes I feel a little frustrated at the limited time that we have to spend together, because we work opposite shifts and probably because my limited extrovertedness is probably exhausting to him.

 

I am learning to slow my roll.  It isn’t easy for me.  I like to show people that I care about them; I like to make things better when I can… and this isn’t what he needs. 

 

When he was sick, it was my immediate instinct to make soup and take him things to make him feel better.  This was not what he wanted; this wasn’t how he deals with being ill… he prefers to do it alone.

 

For a little bit it stung… I was being pushed away, I wasn’t wanted… which can, in my mind, translate to “you’re not good enough”.  Which I realize is MY issue, not his and I can’t project it on him.  I may have had a moment of passive aggression, which I quickly recognized (he did too).

 

So… I’ve read several articles on “dating an introvert” and they make a lot of sense.  Basically, it’s just recognizing his needs, which are different from mine.  So we both will need to be patient with other.

 

I think he could be worth the patience… I mean I haven’t run yet… which is completely out of character for me.